Did You Know?

The idea of these pages is to get you started, or perhaps to offer a different starting point from which to explore information available online. 

If you would like to offer other “Did You Know” suggestions, please email info@pastfifty.net   
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WHAT TIME IS IT IN SHANGHAI? (OR ANYWHERE ELSE)

COMMUNITY

EDUCATION

EXPERIENCES / ADVENTURES

FAMILY TREES

FINANCE & INSURANCE

FOOD ONLINE

HEALTH

HORSERACING

PRICE COMPARISONS  

TV & RADIO

WEATHER

WHAT'S ON?

WILDLIFE PROTECTION

LINKS TO OTHER SITES

WHAT TIME IS IT IN SHANGHAI? (OR ANYWHERE ELSE)

A World clock enables you to find out the time in any part of the world.  Go to http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/  If you need to determine within what time period you can phone someone during office hours in, for example, Australia, go to http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/meeting.html and enter the details requested. 

If you run Outlook (not Outlook Express), you can also set up your calendar to show the time in two different time zones.   Whilst in Calendar go to Tools – Options – Calendar Options – Time Zone – tick the box “Show an additional time zone” and select the time zone desired.  Type the country or town in the Label box and then OK.

COMMUNITY

Quite a good place to start is http://www.direct.gov.uk/HomeAndCommunity/WhereYouLive/YourCommunity/CommunityArticles/fs/en?CONTENT_ID=4001648&chk=O001JZ – scroll down to the bottom of the page and click links as appropriate.

Also try http://www.gumtree.com/ and http://www.direct.gov.uk/Diol1/DoItOnline/DoItOnlineByCategory/fs/en?CONTENT_ID=4018114&chk=jO0PQv

EDUCATION

The BBC page http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/default.stm has some interesting links; also try the Department for Eduaction & Skills http://www.dfes.gov.uk/ , http://education.guardian.co.uk/ & http://www.tes.co.uk/

FOOD ONLINE

A good place to start is http://www.ukfoodonline.co.uk/

For Japanese food try http://www.mountfuji.co.uk/ 

Indian foods at http://www.natco-online.com/ 

Italian foods at http://www.nifeislife.com/ 

French foods at http://www.paniers.com/gb/index.php 

Spanish foods at http://www.delicioso.co.uk/index.php?gclid=CIXwh-elvYkCFTVYQgodlCkmUw  and http://www.thetapaslunchcompany.co.uk/

Chinese and Thai foods at http://www.theasiancookshop.co.uk/index.asp?function=DISPLAYCAT&catid=54&gclid=CKzZ4qWmvYkCFSFUMAod2ngTFw 

German foods at https://www.germandeli.co.uk/sess/utn;jsessionid=154597fd15dabae/shopdata/index.shopscript

Gourmet foods at http://www.formanandfield.com/ 

M & S   Festive Cheer Hamper £29.50

HEALTH

Your first port of call would normally be the NHS site http://www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk/

Surgery Door at http://www.surgerydoor.co.uk/ is well worth a look

The BBC have a site http://www.bbc.co.uk/health/ with good links

Natural Health product suppliers may be found on our Shopping page

HORSERACING

The official site of the British Horseracing Board is at http://www.britishhorseracing.com/

The BBC’s sports page is at http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/horse_racing/default.stm

Long – established Sporting Life is at http://www.sportinglife.com/racing/news/

And a whole heap of stuff can be found at http://www.racingbetter.co.uk/

PRICE COMPARISONS  

The average household could save £140 off their energy bills if they changed supplier. Click here to find out how much you could save. 

Click to see how you could Save upto 90% on your home telephone calls

WILDLIFE PROTECTION

Wildlife in the UK is protected under various laws - http://www.wildlifetrust.org.uk/facts/protect.htm is a good place to start

World Wildlife’s site is at http://www.worldwildlife.org/

DEFRA’s webpage on UK wildlife http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/statistics/wildlife/index.htm give some factual information

The trade in wildlife for pets is addressed by http://www.apa.org.uk/

The World Society for the Protection of Animals is at http://wspa.org.uk/index.asp

EXPERIENCES / ADVENTURES

Flying? Try Air Experiences

Other  Experiences & adventures   Spa & Pampering deals

FAMILY TREES

A good starting point is http://www.familyrecords.gov.uk/

The BBC have some good advice for anyone thinking of starting a family tree at http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/trail/familyhistory/

The National Archives can be a good resource at http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/familyhistory/

Find your ancestors today with a FREE 14 day trial to Ancestry.co.uk - Click here

TV & RADIO

Radio Times provides a good facility for you to set up your own page to access the TV channels available to you at http://www.radiotimes.com/ListingsServlet?event=13&broadcastType=1&jspGridLocation=/jsp/tv_listings_grid.jsp&jspListLocation=/jsp/tv_listings_single.jsp&jspError=/jsp/error.jsp

You can listen to some missed radio programmes at http://www.bbc.co.uk/voices/tvandradio/

Lots of useful information on radio (including DAB) and TV at http://www.bbc.co.uk/voices/tvandradio/

For an independent media directory for the UK, try http://www.mediauk.com/

WEATHER

One of the best, which you can personalise, is http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/ukweather/

For serious forecasting and detailed information, the Met Office is essential at http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/

Worldwide forecasts – as well as UK forecasts – may be found at http://uk.weather.yahoo.com/

http://www.weatheronline.co.uk/ is another good site

FINANCE & INSURANCE

Managing money http://www.direct.gov.uk/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/ManagingMoney/fs/en

Looking to move or retire abroad – how will this affect my pension? http://www.direct.gov.uk/BritonsLivingAbroad/BeforeYouGo/BeforeYouGoArticles/fs/en?CONTENT_ID=4000018&chk=5WmTob

Benefits and tax credits http://www.direct.gov.uk/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/BenefitsTaxCreditsAndOtherSupport/fs/en

Managing Debt http://www.direct.gov.uk/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/ManagingDebt/fs/en

Pensions & Retirement http://www.direct.gov.uk/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/PensionsAndRetirement/fs/en

Report Benefit Fraud online http://www.direct.gov.uk/Diol1/DoItOnline/DoItOnlineArticles/fs/en?CONTENT_ID=4017574&chk=a0TKSe

A good portal, with lots of information and links, is http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/

WHAT'S ON?

There is no complete guide to everything on in the UK.  It is often best to do a search for a particular town or city or county.  This is where you can use the Google Engine more specifically.  If you are familiar with Boolean Algebra you can enter the conditions all at once; if not, try this – we’ll take Plymouth as an example:

1. Use Google as your search engine
2. Enter Plymouth and click the UK box; then click search
3. When the results come up, scroll down to the bottom of the page and click “Search within results”
4. Then type: what’s on, and click search.

You should then see a collection of relevant results which you can explore further.

LINKS TO OTHER SITES

Mabels . . . For the over 50s

www.overfiftiesfriends.co.uk

www.gorgeous-gear.com

www.howtobooks.co.uk/